Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will try not to cover ground already covered by Deputy O'Callaghan. My party welcomes the additional funding being provided for law enforcement this year. The Ireland for all that we campaigned for this year is one in which communities are protected. A strong community is a safe community, and keeping homes and streets safe from crime is a core priority for our party, which requires increased resources.

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The confidence and supply arrangement that Fianna Fáil has agreed with Fine Gael provides for an increase in Garda numbers to 15,000, investment in CCTV and mandating the Policing Authority to oversee a review of the boundaries of Garda districts and the disbursement of Garda stations, all of which were key priorities for my party in the recent election. We certainly will be vigilant in monitoring the delivery of these commitments.

Regarding the need for more gardaí to work on front-line duties, building on the findings of the Garda Inspectorate report, there is a clear need to ramp up the use of civilian staff in the force to alleviate the burden of administrative duties on gardaí. New workforce planning and outsourcing of certain non-essential duties that do not require a sworn officer would certainly help free up gardaí to get them back on the beat, visible in their communities and directly tackling crime. In one station in Kildare last year, more than 5,000 passport applications were signed at 20 minutes each. This is not a good use of Garda time.

Strong community relations are the bedrock of an effective police force. However, the imbalance in community gardaí across the country is damaging local links to the force. We need to cover all Garda districts to ensure that a community garda is based in each area with strong links to the local community. For example, County Kildare does not have one community garda. How can resources be so misappropriated when, for example, Bray has 13 community gardaí?

In relation to Garda stations, the closure of the stations in Ballitore and Ballymore Eustace in my county has been devastating and the resulting burden that has been placed on the remaining resources is far too onerous. Currently, the ratio in Kildare is one per 697 persons, while the national average is one per 335. This is wrong. There is a significant potential threat in the future following the closure of rural Garda stations. It is the wrong policy as it jeopardises the security of countless communities and homes. The decision to extinguish the blue light of the local station sent a clear message to criminals that resulted in a wave of burglaries hitting cities, towns and villages around the country, and while there was a decrease nationally of 2.2% in theft and related offences, the rate of such crimes has doubled in my county. The paltry savings from these closures, which I understand amounted to €500,000, did not justify the deeply damaging impact on the communities they served. As a party, we believe there should be a Garda Inspectorate report on the 139 station areas to gauge the impact of the closures and make recommendations on whether each station should be reopened or, in cases in which the building has been sold, a new station established.

We also believe there should be a new victims' law and a victim surcharge. The victims of crime need to be fully supported. Too often, the justice system appears to be balanced in favour of criminals and repeat offenders while ordinary people who fall prey to criminality are left unrecognised.

I have a few points on the equality aspect. I would draw the Minister's attention to the International Protection Act 2015. The Estimates provide for the commencement of this Act as an output target. Last week, of course, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission raised this issue and called on the Government to move without delay in implementing in full the recommendations of a steering group on reform of the direct provision system. I note the statement by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, that several of the recommendations would be provided for and commenced later this year. When will this happen? When will the sections be commenced? The Act was passed before Christmas.

When will the proposed family leave Bill be published? The Estimates provide for its enactment as a 2016 output target. We have a paternity Bill this week, but is further legislation planned for publication and enactment this year? Finally, on other strategies promised, I would appreciate if the Minister could be specific on when we will see the new LGBTI strategy and new Traveller and Roma inclusion strategies.

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